


Ludwig

by lumassen



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Gift Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25535434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumassen/pseuds/lumassen
Summary: This is a gift fic for Grim, and is basically an au inspired by another au :')I love their fic 'Clouded', it's a wonderful SuFin fic in which Berwald is blind. I wanted to put a spin on it a little, because a) there isn't enough GerSu in this world, and b) Ludwig and dogs. So here we have this little drabble!Pure fluff, but this time some GerSu for the soul. I hope you like it!Ludwig is a guide dog trainer, and Matthias has a surprise for Berwald.
Relationships: Germany/Sweden (Hetalia)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 17





	Ludwig

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GrimAnonymousRex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimAnonymousRex/gifts).
  * Translation into 中文-普通话 國語 available: [路德维希](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25950697) by [shafufus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shafufus/pseuds/shafufus)
  * Inspired by [Clouded](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17974940) by [GrimAnonymousRex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimAnonymousRex/pseuds/GrimAnonymousRex). 



“Well, you suck at directions.” Matthias said as he pulled into the car park and turned the car off.

“Mat, I’m _blind._ ” Berwald turned to face his friend, but knew he was joking as he could pretty much hear the big fat grin he probably had on his face in his laughter.

Running his hand along the inside of the car door, Berwald found the handle and eased himself out, slamming the door closed behind him and unfolding his cane.

It was Saturday, and Berwald and Matthias had an appointment to see a guide dog trainer. They had gotten lost a few times on the way, but luckily weren't too late. Matthias was friends with Gilbert who was brothers with Ludwig, and in a convenient turn of events Matthias had managed to squeeze in a last minute appointment.

Berwald could honestly say that he hadn’t been this excited about something in a long time, yet he was apprehensive. He wasn’t particularly _bad_ with dogs, but wasn’t great either.

“So I spoke with Gil this morning, he’s gonna meet us here. In fact, I think that’s him there actually,” Matthias said as they walked across the carpark, and Berwald winced as Matthias shouted Gilbert’s name loudly from right beside him. 

Upon approaching the building, Berwald was delighted to find that there were no steps, grateful for a building that was actually catered to him for once in his life as he followed the sound of Matthias’s voice chatting away to Gilbert up the small ramp and into the foyer.

“So, Mat told me that you’ve never had a guide dog before, so we’ve brought a couple out for you to meet and you can see which ones feel right for you.” Gilbert said as they walked through the corridors, his voice drifting closer as he slowed his pace to match Berwald’s.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a few moments after, the sound of Berwald’s cane tapping lightly on the wooden floor was the only thing that could be heard until either Gilbert or Matthias pushed open a door and Berwald was startled by the sound of a dog barking.

“Calm down, Penny,” Berwald heard someone say as the door slammed closed behind them, and suddenly there was something brushing his trouser leg. He bent down to stroke the dog, lightly tracing his fingers over its soft fur until he found its head, then scratched it behind the ears. 

“Sorry about Penny, she’s only a pup and I’ve only been training her for a week.” The voice drew closer as footsteps crossed the floor before coming to a stop in front of him, and Berwald could only assume that this was Ludwig. His voice was stern, yet cheery, and Berwald felt the dog disappear from beneath his feet.

“Aw, she’s so cute, can I pet her too?” Matthias cooed, and Berwald knew that despite asking he was probably already petting her anyway.

Ludwig laughed, “Of course, there are some toys over there if you want to entertain her for a while.”

Matthias and Gilbert’s voices quietened as they walked away across the room, and Berwald cleared his throat and held his hand out,

“Nice to meet ya, Mat’s told me all about you. I’m grateful to you for takin’ the time to fit us in.”

Ludwig took his hand and shook it firmly,

“No problem, I’m happy to help. Now, I’ve picked out a couple of dogs for you to interact with, if you’d like to follow me, we’ll walk straight ahead.”

Crossing the room with Ludwig, Berwald listened to his steps across the floor and stopped when he did. Ludwig was clearly used to interacting with visually impaired people, and it really showed by the way he spoke and acted around Berwald. It was comfortable, and Berwald found his nerves completely disappear.

He listened as Ludwig told him about the three dogs before him, Lucky, a 3 year old black Labrador, Rosie, a 1 year old Alsatian, and Hana, a 2 year old Golden Retriever.

Crouching down as instructed, Berwald held out his hand for each of the three dogs to go ahead and sniff it one by one, then stood up again when Ludwig passed their leash to him. They tried out a couple of commands with each dog, but the one that he felt the most comfortable with was Hana.

“She really responds to you well,” Ludwig said, a pleased tone to his voice, as he watched Berwald walk a lap with her.

“Yeah, she doesn’t pull as much as the others did,” Berwald admitted as he came to a stop when Hana stopped walking.

“That might be because you’re hesitating a little and not walking at your normal pace without your cane, but it’s a good sign that she picked up on that and slowed for you.”

There was a pause, as Ludwig stopped talking when Matthias shrieked with laugher in the corner of the room and Penny barked,

“Sorry about Matthias,” Berwald said, though he was smiling a little and he heard Ludwig chuckle.

“It’s fine, Penny has that effect on people. So, Hana's yours if you want her, of course we’ll need to have a couple of lessons-”

“Oh, I’m not sure that I can afford it…” Berwald interrupted Ludwig. He’d love to have a guide dog, but in the eyes of the UK government having one wasn’t a necessity so he couldn’t receive funding for one.

There was another pause, and Berwald was worried that he’d offended Ludwig, suddenly feeling awkward.

“Did Matthias not tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

Ludwig called for Matthias, and Berwald strained his ears to listen as he approached and the two of them talked in hushed voices, then jumped as Matthias placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I didn’t want to tell you here, I wanted to wait until later but me an’ Lukas have chipped in and we’ve got the majority of the money together to get you sorted with a guide dog. You’d still need to put a little towards but it would only be a couple hundred…” Matthias said, and Berwald felt like he could burst.

At a loss for words, all he could think of to do was turn to Matthias, a grin on his face, and reach out to hug him. Matthias returned the hug, slapping Berwald on the back a couple of times before letting go again.

“Mat, I don’t have the words. Are you sure?” Berwald stammered.

“Of course, bud! You deserve it.” Matthias beamed, his voice as joyful as ever.

“Sorry, I didn’t realise you didn’t know.” Ludwig said, sounding apologetic, “But now that we’ve got everything established if you’d like to follow me to fill out your registration.”

*

A couple of weeks had gone by, and Berwald was just nearing the end of his final lesson with Ludwig.

After the first few sessions, Matthias had stopped coming in with Berwald and only dropped him off and picked him up in the car, and Berwald was finding that he was not only getting butterflies in his stomach at the thought that soon Hana would be his, but also that this was the last time he would get to spend time with Ludwig. Over their sessions they had talked about other things besides Hana, and Berwald had found that they had a lot in common. Ludwig spoke with such passion and care too when he was talking about the dogs, and Berwald couldn’t believe how much Ludwig just _got_ him and spoke to him as though he were just a normal person.

He was, of course, a normal person who just happened to be blind, but Berwald had grown used to people talking to him as if he were stupid or incapable. With Ludwig it was refreshing.

He listened as Ludwig scribbled notes on his clipboard and muttered to himself as he wrote.

“Right so we’ve only got one last thing to practice and then you can take Hana home today.” He said, and Berwald felt a grin crack across his face as he bent down to pet Hana’s head as she stood beside him.

“I’m going to play some traffic sounds through the surround system, and I want you to walk with Hana as you would normally and give her some commands.”

Berwald nodded and Ludwig moved over to the other side of the room as the sounds of cars rumbling past and truck horns beeping filled the room.

“Ludwig.” Berwald said, and Hana set off walking towards him. The traffic sounds grew louder, and Berwald asked her to stop and start a couple of times and she did so without fail until they reached Ludwig and the sounds stopped.

“Great job! I’m going to miss this-“ he began, then stopped short and cleared his throat, “I mean Hana, I’m going to miss Hana. She’s a great dog and I know you two will be just fine together.”

Berwald nodded and smiled, but there was a small silence that fell between them and he could feel his heart hammering in his chest.

“Well, I suppose this is it then. I’ll walk you out to Matthias.” Ludwig said, his voice suddenly a little quieter. He took a couple of steps forward, but Berwald’s legs were like lead, refusing to move as he opened his mouth to speak before he could stop himself,

“Ludwig, do you want to come for a coffee with me some time?” he realised he shouted a little as he blurted out his words and felt his face turning bright red. The seconds that passed were excruciating and Berwald wished he’d taught Hana the command ‘run for the hills’ until Ludwig took a couple of steps back towards Berwald, standing close to him now that he could smell his aftershave.

“I would love to.” He said, and Berwald had never heard such warmth in such a short sentence.


End file.
